Rankine return exciting Suns skipper

He's had an appetiser, now Gold Coast captain David Swallow wants to sample a main course of draftee Izak Rankine's talents.

The Suns' No.3 draft pick has been sidelined since the club's second AFL pre-season fixture due to hamstring issues but Swallow said he is in line for a return this weekend.

That's unlikely to be in the Suns' clash with Sydney at the SCG this weekend, with any return for the 19-year-old likely to be in the reserves fixture in Blacktown.

Regardless of where he comes back, Swallow has seen enough in his brief time on the field with the highly-touted forward to believe he can make an impact in the back half of the season.

"We can't wait to have him back," Swallow said.

"We've only had a small sniff of it but we know he's got a lot of attributes and we can't wait to just have him out there and see what he can do."

Touk Miller and Pearce Hanley are both set to return for the Suns after recovering from quad injuries as Gold Coast aims to repeat last year's upset win over the Swans.

After slipping to a ninth-straight defeat against St Kilda in Townsville before last weekend's bye, Swallow believes the addition of swashbuckling players like Hanley and Rankine can help the Suns turn around their fortunes.